Mount Adams, situated in the eastern Cascade range, east of Mount St Helens and north of Mount Hood, is the second most massive and the third tallest volcano in the Cascade range. Popular among hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts in general, Mt Adams is accessible year round, and visited by folks from both states - Washington and Oregon.

Mt Adams area offers more than one thousand miles of trails that are woven throughout the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and many are open to mountain bikers.

If you're ExtraHyperActive like me, Mt Adams is a great little getaway from Seattle for a perfect multi-sport weekend.

Though my main goal was to climb/ski Mt Adams, having heard a lot about the abundance of opportunities for both road and mountain biking, I decided to take my bike along to explore the area and a few local mountain bike trails.

Conveniently for me, Cold Springs trail #72 was located at the same camping ground as the main climbing rout - South Climb #183

Open to mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians, Cold Springs trail is 3.7 miles long, and offers amazing wildflowers viewing and the sights of A.G. Aiken Lava Flow. Much of the trail travels through an area heavily burned in the Cold Springs Fire of 2008.

The trail interacts with a few other major trails making a great way to explore the area by bike. If you decide to ride this trail one way, keep in mind, it's pretty steep, and the way up could be more than you bargained for ( especially if you have to climb Mt Adams the next day like I did :)).

But riding my bike with Mt Adams in the background was one of the highlights of my trip !

In my previous articles I wrote about two most popular caves in our state - Ape Caves and The Big Four Ice Caves. For an obvious reason people are drawn to these geological nature wonders. What can be more adventurous and even mystical, than exploring the caves? Here I will add one more cave to explore in our state- Guler Ice Cave.

Located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Mt Adams, these underground chambers are not too large or deep ( about 650 feet long), making them a fun experience for the novice spelunker.
The caves are filled with spectacular ice formations that resemble the stalactites, stalagmites, columns, fans and boxwork that require thousands of years to form in a limestone cavern.There are numerous lava tubes of the Mt. Adams volcano, some are small and some up to 2 miles long, which are different parts of a few once connected lava tubes. Portions of the Ice Caves are inaccessible, but you can find other sinkholes by following a surface trail.Even in the heat of summer, the temperatures in the Ice Caves can be quite chilly.
Before, the caves were used as "natural" refrigerators.The story tells of American natives, who stored there huckleberries in the cave. In 1860 the ice from the caves, was used to cool down the drinks in the taverns of Dalles City ( Oregon). Later, the owners of the caves experimented in using the cave as a cold storage.

Peterson Prairie Guard Station, a mile west of the cave, is rented by the Forest Service year-round. Peterson Prairie also has a summer campground. Back in Trout Lake, the log Trout Lake Motel and some bed-and-breakfast inns cater to overnight guests.

Directions to the Guler Ice Caves: Take I-5 South,take HWY 14 West,take Washington Route 141 north from White Salmon to Trout Lake, then head west on Forest Road 24 for 5.5 miles.

If you are interested in caving (speleology ) and want to attend a few trips with professional cavers in our state and Oregon, join the Oregon Grotto- the only chapter of the National Speleological Society in our region.There are lots of benefits of being a member of the Oregon Grotto !

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